Fish quality - Gutted saithe (Pollachius virens) during iced storage on board

The decrease in freshness of gutted saithe during iced storage on board for 10 days was monitored using different methods (sensory, chemical and physical). A very good correlation to the time of storage (deviation in the range of 1 to 1.5 days) and to the sensory evaluation by quality index method (deviation less then 10 per cent) was found by using time domain reflectometry of muscle and skin as well as by the use of the contactless and non-destructive image processing of tissue and skin. Both methods allow shortly and with low effort an estimation of the freshness of iced fish.